verb #20,942

Meanings

  1. 1 to stand on tiptoe
  2. 2 to hope for; to look forward to
  3. 3 enterprise (in compounds)

Examples

HSK 4
Zhè jiā qǐyè hěn chénggōng.
The enterprise is very successful.
HSK 5
Tā qǐtú táopǎo, dàn shībài le.
He tried to escape but failed.

Tips

usage
rarely stands alone in modern Chinese; it lives in compounds. 企业 = enterprise or company, 企图 = to attempt, 企盼 = to look forward to.

Components

radical
rén
person
sits on top - a stylised standing figure. Combined with (foot) underneath, originally pictured a person rising onto their tiptoes to look ahead. The radical here also indexes the character in the person section.
semantic
zhǐ
foot; stop
is an old foot-print pictograph. Person + foot = standing tall on the toes, straining to see further - the literal sense of . From 'looking far' came the modern meanings 'to plan, expect, undertake' and the noun 企业 (enterprise).

Stroke Order